Famous Men And How They Died
by Little Jackie Papercut
Summary: It started with the usual routine. Too bad there was something definitely unusual about today.
1. Impending Doom

I don't own Ranma  
Rumiko Takahashi  
Is the genius there  
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As the final blow landed, Ranma sank to his knees in defeat.

"Pathetic," spat the warrior as he drew near. He took a mighty swing and sent Ranma sliding on his back. Ranma looked around at the others, all watching anxiously, and smiled. At least they cared...

Slowly, his eyes slid shut. He managed to whisper, "Sorry... everyone..." and then fell silent.

Akane moved closer, trying to get his attention. "Ranma." No answer. "Ranma? ...RAAAANMAAAA!!!" She shook him, beat on his chest, slapped his cheek, but the boy didn't respond.

Ryoga stood in stunned silence, watching the scene before him as his mind filled with a new kind of horror. It couldn't... shouldn't... wasn't going to end like this. He wouldn't let it. As the armored man approached once more, Ryoga found himself moving to meet him. He would end this, here and now.

* * *

But maybe I should back up a little.

* * *

It was a perfectly ordinary day for Ranma Saotome. And of course, by "perfectly ordinary", I mean "people keep trying to kill him". Today he was in the mountains, fighting his fiercest rival. 

"Prepare to die, Ranma!" Ryoga Hibiki yelled, his face contorted with rage. He charged, one finger extended, to perform his signature Breaking Point technique. Unfortunately, three things prevented this from working.

First, Ranma was faster than Ryoga.

Second, Ranma had seen this technique many, many times before.

Third, Ryoga still hadn't figured out that the Breaking Point didn't work on humans.

As Ranma dodged effortlessly, Ryoga's attacks became more furious. Suddenly, Ranma hesitated, and realized three things.

First, in order to dodge Ryoga's attacks, he needed room to move.

Second, his back was currently against the base of a cliff.

Third, Ryoga was smarter than he had given him credit for.

Seeing this, Ryoga couldn't resist pausing to crow in triumph, "I've got you now!"

This regrettable decision would be his undoing. He lunged forward, yelling "Bakusai Tengetsu!", and Ranma, having had an extra moment to regain his senses, ducked out of the way. For good measure the pigtailed boy quickly struck back with a sweeping kick, which knocked Ryoga off-balance. His face and finger slammed into the rock, which crumbled away a second later.

"Nice try," Ranma taunted as Ryoga whirled to face him, "but you still can't..." here he trailed off, as something was amiss. Ryoga gave him a questioning look, but Ranma simply stared at the indentation behind him.

It sure was a deep indentation. In fact, Ranma couldn't see all the way inside. It wasn't really an indentation at all; more like a hole. Maybe even a cavern, if you wanted to be liberal about it. Ranma didn't really care what it was called, as far as he was concerned you could paint it and call it a nook, but the point was it was deep. Finally Ryoga looked as well, and, glancing from Ranma to the hole, took a few steps toward the darkness.

"Did you do that?" Ranma asked. Ryoga simply shook his head in response. The Breaking Point technique had never done anything like this before. Slowly he stepped inside, looking back with a challenge in his eyes, and Ranma followed him into the suffocating darkness.

After they had gone some distance along a narrow, curving path, the opening widened, and a faint light could be seen just ahead. This was peculiar, as no daylight could reach this far in. Instead the stone itself seemed to be giving off light. As Ryoga approached the back of the cavern, he fell face-first to the ground. He had tripped over something, but he couldn't see what it was in the darkness. Whatever it was, it stretched across the area, and came about halfway up to his knees. Ranma, having this advance warning, stepped over it, and, standing directly on top of Ryoga's head, examined the glowing wall. "Hey, there's something written here," he said. "Let's see..."

_Sleeping stones awake  
Reuniting the circle  
The five warriors_

"Sleeping stones? What's this all about?"

"Mmf mmfmf."

"Huh? Oh, sorry 'bout that, Ryoga."

"Mmmfmfmm."

Ranma hopped aside, and Ryoga stood and took a look at the inscription himself. Immediately, a voice echoed from the entrance.

"You shouldn't be in here, son-in-law."

Both boys whirled about to see the elderly Cologne stepping inside. "This is a place of evil, one that I hoped nobody would ever find, and I certainly never expected to be living so close to it."

"Whaddya mean, y'old ghoul?" Ranma asked, sitting on the object Ryoga had tr-

"Don't sit there!" she screeched. "Come on, let's go back to town. I'll tell you about it at the cafe."

Ranma followed her out of the cavern, and Ryoga paused momentarily to look back. A chill ran down his spine as he left. He was still curious about that inscription, but now he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

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Okay! It's fanfiction time! This is something I've been trying to do for a long time, but I keep forgetting every idea I have within twenty-four hours. Please do review, I've got a long way to go.


	2. Death Comes to Nerima

I don't own Ranma  
Rumiko Takahashi  
Is the genius there  
--

"Are you going to explain or not, you old ghoul?" Ranma inquired.

Cologne sighed and gestured for the two boys to sit down. "Where do I begin..." she thought aloud. "It was hundreds of years before I was born. For a long time, I thought it was all a legend, but I can see that's not the case." Ranma and Ryoga exchanged a confused look before Cologne continued. "Long ago," she explained, "there was a group known as the Cosantóir. I don't know why they were called that, but they were defenders of the innocent, and the greatest warriors the world knew.

"The founding of the Cosantóir marked the beginning of a bright era for both China and Japan. People would stop Cosantóir on the streets, just to thank them for _being_ Cosantóir. They were loved, they were respected, and they were praised.

"But not everyone wants love, respect, or praise. For some people things like money and power are more important. And those people destroyed the Cosantóir." At this point, she paused. "Are you following this so far?" she asked the two. Both nodded immediately. "You see," she continued, "there were five well-known members of the Cosantóir, who felt that they were not receiving their due reward for defending the world. These men ranked high within the organization, but they believed that they should also hold such positions in the government.

"The five called themselves the Elementals, because the power of each was comparable to a natural disaster. They sought to rule over nature itself.

"Creig of Earth boasted the power of a landslide. He carried a hammer and sword and wore armor all made entirely of the heaviest of stones, so as to increase his already considerable strength. He was said to have thrown a mountain on one occasion.

"Tuile of Water was the fastest man alive. His movements were like flowing water, and no enemy could catch him. It is said his feet were fast enough to tread upon the air itself.

"Lasair of Fire was a deadly berserker. He was like anyone else most of the time, but when sufficiently angered he was worse than any demon. Then his powers surpassed all of the other five.

"Coill of Wood was exceedingly clever. His talent for making traps was the downfall of many criminals, and his tactical skill was thought to be prodigious enough to lead a team of ten men to victory over a great army.

"And Cruafear of Metal was the originator of what is now known as the Fist of the White Swan. He could weild any weapon, foreign though it may be, as though he was born carrying it, and his sword was so sharp it was said to cut through a man's very soul."

Her audience nodded silently, still processing the entire concept.

"These five gathered their followers and rounded on their superiors. The power struggle lasted many, many years, and the whole of the Cosantóir was nearly wiped out. Finally, a lucky blow happened to catch Coill unaware, and he was captured. With Coill imprisoned, the remaining four Elementals were led into a trap, and at long last defeated. It was too late for the Cosantóir; only a few remained, and their leader had been slain. They found that they could not execute the Elementals, for the five had made a demonic pact. They could not be destroyed until the pact had been broken. Instead, they were sealed away and scattered across the world, never to be seen again... or so the remaining Cosantóir hoped." Now Cologne gave the two a look that made them thoroughly uneasy. "That mountain was the tomb of Creig of Earth. By entering, I fear we have weakened the seal, and it is only a matter of time before he awakes."

There was a painful silence before Ranma spoke. "What happens after that?" he asked hesitantly.

"Then," said Cologne, "he will hunt. First he will kill everyone who has entered his tomb. Then, he will travel the world in search of his fellows, and the five will finally rule the world." She stated it as though it were a simple fact, and not a death sentence for all three of them.

"How long do we have?" Ryoga asked.

"I expect... four weeks. Then he will undoubtedly awaken. Until then, we should go about our lives as normal... but we must fill every spare moment with training and research. We may not be able to kill him, but we can hold him off until we find a way to break the pact." Cologne thought for a moment. "Four weeks is just an estimate, of course. It could be accelerated by any number of factors, and I expect it could also be slowed. For instance, he will awaken faster if someone else enters his tomb."

"I guess we have to hope nobody else finds him, then," Ryoga said.

* * *

"Hey, I wonder what's in here?" Happosai wondered loudly as he stepped inside the darkened cavern.

* * *

About a week later, Ranma was sitting in class. He had no idea what was going on around him. After all, there were more pressing issues on his mind, like his impending doom. His training under Cologne left him with barely enough energy to think.

All in all it was a fairly normal day. At least, while it lasted.

Without warning a midget came crashing through the window. Everyone gathered around to get a better look. Before Ranma realized what had happened, the figure sprang to its feet and perched on the windowsill. "You ingrate!" Happosai called to the ground below. "I awakened you! You should be serving me!"

"'Awakened'? Oh, man, don't tell me you went into the cave, you stupid lecher!"

"And what exactly do you know about the cave, Ranma?"

Ranma opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by a sound like waves on the ocean. The entire class turned to face the door, and no sooner had they done so than it burst apart. Ranma squinted, trying to see what he knew to be Creig of Earth.

But Creig was not there. Ranma took a few steps toward the hole in the wall, and then stopped dead in his tracks. It wasn't Creig of Earth. Sitting outside was a pile of rocks.

And they were moving.

Every student in the room backed away into the corner as the rocks inched closer. Just then, a familiar voice rang out. "Just what is the meaning of this? I, Tatewaki Kuno, swear that I will not permit this!" As Kuno stepped forward, raising his wooden sword, the rocks flung themselves at him. With a single swipe, he scattered them. At this point, they surrounded him and began pelting him from every angle. Or at least, they tried to pelt him. His skill with a sword, however, prevented that. Each rock in turn launched itself and was flung away. After this had gone on for some time, the rocks seemed to realize it was useless and began to retreat. "You see! You could never get the better of Tatewaki Kuno!" he called after them. The debris from a number of shattered rocks lingered in the air, and now a human figure stepped through it. "What, who are you?" he called.

A few seconds later the classroom was short another window as Tatewaki Kuno was sent flying through it. He landed with a loud thud on the ground below, and a very pained "I'm okay!" could be heard.

The newcomer was tall, with ashen skin. He wore a helmet and chestplate made entirely of stone, and carried a blade to match. There could be no doubt about it. This was Creig of Earth.

"Ranma, m'boy, we're no match for this man," Happosai informed him.

"I might be if you hadn't woken him up early," Ranma replied with a fierce glare.f

"Not to worry. I have a plan."

"Wait, does this plan involve..."

"HAPPO FIRE BURST!" Happosai yelled, tossing a large firecracker at Creig, who caught it. At the sight, everyone else fled, leaving Creig alone in the room, holding it stupidly.

At the Cat Cafe, Ryoga and Cologne stopped training when he heard the distant boom.

"What you suppose..." Shampoo began, but trailed off when she saw the two figures approaching. Ranma was yelling something indistinct at Happosai.

"...can't believe you would actually lead him to my school!" Ranma concluded as they stopped in front of the cafe.

Cologne stared for a moment. "Would one of you mind explaining what's going on?"

"Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea," said Kuno, as he arrived and leaned on his sword.

"Well, y'see," Ranma explained, "this old freak actually awakened Creig, and now he's come for us."

"So then," Kuno ventured, "that man was seeking you?"

Ranma nodded in response.

At this point, Kuno turned his back, shaking visibly with rage. "I can't believe that even one so vile as you would endanger your classmates so easily! Why, I should kill you where you stand for..."

As Kuno turned back around to follow through on this death threat, a woman carrying a bucket of water to an unknown place forff an unkown purpose tripped. The bucket slid from her hand and emptied itself all over Ranma. Kuno froze in mid-spin. "Ah... pigtailed girl! So, you are also threatened by the same fiend?" After a brief hesitation, Ranma nodded. "In that case," Kuno announced, "I vow that I shall destroy the villain that seeks to harm the pigtailed girl!"

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Cologne told him. "Creig is an immortal. Until we can find some way of invalidating the demonic pact he made hundreds of years ago, you cannot harm him."

There was a silence as Kuno processed this. "Very well then," he said at length. "I will help you in any way I can. Just say the word."

"Right now we just need to be out of here. If we remain in Nerima, Creig will find us, and then we'll be dead."

"Hold on," said Happosai. "There's one place I have to stop first."

* * *

At the Tendo Dojo, Kasumi was busy sweeping. Well, that was what she appeared to be doing, at any rate, but if so she was doing it in a terribly inefficient way. It was odd, Kasumi excelled at positively anything else, but when sweeping, she would sweep only one spot on the floor endlessly. So when she was distracted from her sweeping by the six approaching figures, it wasn't much of a problem.

"Hey, Kasumi, is your father home?" Happosai called out.

"Oh, sure, he's right inside."

"Don't tell me this is the important place you had to stop," Ranma groaned, her eyes narrowing dangerously at the Anything-Goes grandmaster. He didn't answer, but hurried inside. With a sigh, Ranma followed him. "Better make it quick!" she called.

Inside, there was already a scene developing. "You did WHAT?!" came Akane's voice, and as Ranma entered the room she saw Akane brandishing her signature mallet, looking very ready to kill Happosai.

"Calm down," Happosai instructed, "we'll get this fixed soon enough."

Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo had apparently been listening to the whole thing calmly. "So what you're saying is, you'll never be safe until this man is dead," Genma clarified.

"And he's too powerful for you to fight," Soun added.

"Exactly," said Happosai.

"In that case," Genma concluded, "I'm afraid this is up to you."

"What?"

"Master," Soun explained, "you are far more powerful than either of us. If you cannot defeat him, then we would surely be killed!"

"You little ingrates!" Happosai screeched. "You'll be killed right now if you don't..."

He never finished this threat, however, as just then a shout came from outside.

Ranma, Akane and Happosai raced outside, and sure enough, in the distance the figure of Creig could be seen.

"There's no time to waste! Let's just get out of here!" cried Ryoga. All seven set off.

All seven?

"Listen, Akane," Ranma said quickly, turning to face her, "if you come with us, you'll just put yourself in harm's way."

"Save it, Ranma," she responded. "I'm coming with you, no matter what you say."

There was a general hesitation, and then there was no longer time to think about it, for Creig had now caught up to them. He swung with his sword and missed by inches as Ranma and Akane ducked under the blow.

And then he was intercepted.

"You go!" Shampoo told them. "I hold him off!"

"But... Shampoo!"

"Go! NOW!"

The rest of the group, Akane included, hurried off, but Ranma paused and turned back. "Shampoo, hurry up and run!"

"I fine! Go!" she insisted, looking over her shoulder at Ranma.

And then she was not fine. Because at that moment, the sword of Creig was shoved forcefully through her abdomen. Ranma's eyes widened in horror at the scene.

"SHAMPOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

--  
Sorry this took so long, I've been working on other things.


	3. The Thunder Rolls

I don't own Ranma  
Rumiko Takahashi  
Is the genius there  
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"Wake up!"

Ranma pulled himself from his daze just in time to avoid being clobbered by Cologne's staff. He had hardly noticed anything that had happened for the past two weeks. He still hadn't come to terms with the events of that last day in Nerima.

Shampoo had never stood a chance. The moment she had chosen to take on Creig, her fate was sealed. However, Creig wasn't there for Shampoo at all. As soon as he had impaled her, he had turned his attention on Ranma. Before he could do anything, however... something had happened. What was it? An explosion... probably another Happo Fire Burst. Before the air between them had cleared, Happosai had already grabbed the still-stunned Ranma by the arm and led her away with the rest.

After that they had gotten out of Nerima as quickly as possible. Creig had wandered off to find them again as the Tendos rushed outside to see what was going on. Genma Saotome had called for help, and Shampoo was rushed to the hospital. There she regained consciousness and managed to describe her attacker to the authorities.

She died in the hospital the next day due to her injury and blood loss.

When he heard the news, Ranma had not reacted well. Actually, he hadn't reacted at all. He just sort of listened and barely acknowleged what he had heard, just like with everything else. It was more than a week before he began to improve, and even now he still wasn't back to his old self.

They had spent the next few days running from place to place. It seemed everywhere they went, Creig followed. Getting him off their trail was an incredible feat, and one they were sure they would never manage. Somehow, though, they had. Now they were settled in a forest in the Hokkaido district. Kuno had wanted to continue to the nearest town, but Cologne stopped him, explaining that they would be easier to detect if they checked into a hotel. No place was safe, but in the forest they had natural cover.

"Ranma, if you don't pay attention you're going to die," Ryoga informed him.

"I know... I know," Ranma replied, getting himself into a fighting stance. There was little time; they never knew when Creig would find them again, or if they could survive the next time.

Ryoga charged, ready to launch a mighty blow. Ranma dodged, as he had done many times in the past, but Ryoga's reflexes had improved and he adjusted his attack. He struck a glancing blow, which sent Ranma to the ground. Now Ryoga was above Ranma, his fist raised for a falling attack. The attack never came, though, because in an instant Ranma had gotten to the right of Ryoga, who had no time to react as his opponent delivered a devastating barrage of attacks. Ryoga managed to recover and slid several feet away, and now Ranma took the offensive. As Ryoga turned to find Ranma behind him, something distracted them both.

Specifically, it was a great quantity of knives, striking all around them. The two were unable to dodge, the knives would pierce them both...

...and yet they didn't. When they looked around, the knives seemed to have struck every spot they possibly could have without hitting a person.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something too important," announced a familiar voice, as a long-haired boy stepped through the trees.

Cologne blinked rapidly. "Mousse?" she asked, surprise evident on her face. "What are you doing here?"

At these words, Mousse seemed to swell up as his face colored with rage. "What do you mean, what am I doing here?" he demanded. "The better question is, why have I been searching for you for two whole weeks? Was it really that hard to contact me?"

"How did you know..."

"Shampoo... told me." Mousse's expression of fury was gone, replaced by that same sadness that had been etched on Ranma's face. "I heard you screaming her name, Ranma... I was there before they got her on a stretcher. I was with her the whole time... and I saw the moment she died."

There was a long and awkward silence. Several times it looked like Ranma might say something, but he didn't. At length, Cologne asked, "So what is it you want? You blame Ranma for Shampoo's death?"

"No." Mousse stared at a knife near Ranma's feet. "If I blamed Ranma, I would not have missed. Nothing will stop me from avenging Shampoo. And that is why you have to let me..."

Before he could finish there was a distant crashing sound. Following that, there were several more. Everyone paled as they stared at Mousse in disbelief.

"You idiot, you've led him right to us!" Cologne snapped. Indeed, not far away Creig of Earth was approaching fast.

Mousse didn't even respond as he stared in the direction of the crashing noise. In front of him, a tree swayed, then toppled over. It landed directly to his left, and where it had been stood Creig. As the towering fellow approached, Happosai backed away. "We've got to get out of here, before it's too late," he declared.

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Cologne informed him. "Now that he's this close he'll catch us in no time for sure."

"Well then," Ryoga said, stepping toward Creig and raising his umbrella, "we'll just have to make sure he can't follow us." As soon as he finished saying this, he dashed toward the foe, and took a great swing. Creig dodged without difficulty, and threw a punch that launched Ryoga away. They clashed again, and crossed sword and umbrella. Ultimately, Ryoga was no match and was thrown back in Ranma's direction. Before he hit the ground, he threw the umbrella at Creig's face, but the warrior simply swatted it aside. It flew open, spinning, and struck a tree next to Mousse, where it stuck fast.

Creig stepped toward Ryoga, raising his sword to deliver a fatal blow, when suddenly he seemed distracted by more crashing sounds. He listened a moment, then shrugged. Finally he swung, only to realize that Ryoga was no longer there, but on his feet several yards away.

"I don't need my umbrella to beat you!" Ryoga declared, charging with one finger raised. "Bakusai Tengetsu!"

Creig dodged this as easily as the first attack. The next few met with the same result, before Creig grabbed Ryoga by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

There was a flash.

A small black piglet wriggled out of Creig's grasp. The warrior didn't seem to realize exactly what had happened for a moment, but quickly noticed P-chan on the move. He raised his foot to stomp the piglet, but he was too slow. A flash of red zipped by, snatching P-chan and carrying him to safety.

Mousse adjusted his glasses. He couldn't tell what was going on. Between the heavy rain in front of him and his incredible myopia, he might as well have been blind. He looked up and saw that he was standing underneath Ryoga's umbrella, still embedded in the tree.

Creig made some fruitless attempts to strike Ranma, but she was a little too fast. Without warning he lost his grip on his sword, slippery in the rain., and it lodged itself in another tree.

Slowly the squall began to slow, until the deadly fists of Creig were uninhibited by rain. He wound up for a final punch, one Ranma could never hope to dodge.

And he found his hand was otherwise occupied as a chain wrapped around it. Mousse pulled with his full strength until Creig turned to face him. "You guys get going!" Mousse called. "I'll make sure he doesn't follow you!"

"What? You're throwing your life away too?" Ranma responded.

"This man is too strong for you!" Cologne added.

"And that," said Kuno, preparing his sword, "is why I will fight as well. I came to protect the pigtailed girl and Akane Tendo. Now I will acheive that goal." He strode confidently toward the preoccupied Creig. Ranma was about to stop him, until she felt Cologne's hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, son-in... Ranma. The most important thing is that the four of us survive. If Creig kills us, the next thing he'll do is awaken the other Elementals, and nobody wants that. It's hard, but we have to let them fight."

Ranma looked from Cologne to the three fighters, and thought for as long as she could afford to. At length she nodded. "Let's go."

Immediately Ranma, Akane, Cologne and Happosai dashed far away, with P-chan riding on Akane's head.

"Wait, where's Ryoga?" Akane asked.

"Don't worry, he'll catch up!" Ranma informed her.

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Stay tuned for the next thrilling installment of Famous Men and How They Died! Don't forget to review!


	4. Keeping Watch

I don't own Ranma  
Rumiko Takahashi  
Is the genius there  
--

That night while the others slept, Ryoga stared at the sky. They had had another close call with death, and it was a miracle they had managed to elude Creig. The cost of their escape was something they had never thought they'd pay. And it was getting to him.

He decided that there was only one way he could clear his mind, and that was to scout ahead a bit. Quietly, he stood and slipped off into the trees.

They had gone as far as they could in one day and still continued. They were sleeping in shifts; right now, Ranma was keeping watch. Eventually he came to a river they had crossed shortly before making camp. He almost wandered right into it, but caught himself just in time. He had just turned back into a human a short while ago, and he would prefer to stay that way, thank you very much. When he realized where he was, he groaned and slapped one hand to his forehead. After a moment, he started walking alongside the river.

Before he had gone far there was a splashing sound. Turning to face it, he rushed in what he hoped was the right direction.

* * *

Ranma stared blankly at the river. He had volunteered to take first watch so she could think. Maybe Ryoga had destroyed that cliff face. Maybe Happosai had awakened Creig of Earth. But it was Ranma's responsibility. He should have stopped it, somehow. He should have beaten Creig when he first arrived at the school. But he hadn't. And because of his failure, Shampoo, Mousse, Kuno... all of them were dead.

And he couldn't deal with it.

The feeling of being responsible for three deaths was overwhelming him, and it took all his strength not to cry. He was Ranma Saotome, man among men, and dammit, he would not cry! So instead, he sat there, peering into the river, for an eternity and a half.

Splash.

Without thinking, Ranma had leapt headlong into the river. As she pulled herself out, she looked down at herself, and then she collapsed on her hands and knees and began sobbing. Ranma Saotome, man among men, would not cry. But Ranma Saotome, the pigtailed girl, could do so freely.

Who can say how long she stayed there, shaking violently with each sob? She didn't even notice the footsteps until they were right behind her.

"Ranma?"

Ryoga had seen a lot of things, but this was not one of them. In all the time they had known each other, Ranma had not genuinely cried like this once. That worried him, and the fact that he was worried about Ranma made him worry about himself, and the fact that he was worried about himself made him worry about everyone else. The more he thought about the whole situation, the more worried he got, so he decided to focus on one thing at a time. He sat next to the half-girl and tried to look her in the eyes, but couldn't find her face in the dark. "Ranma, you..."

"Save it," snapped the redhead. "I know what you're going to say. I couldn't have saved them. And that's the problem, y'know. I should have been stronger. I should have been able to stop him before anyone got hurt..."

"No. Nobody could have stopped him. There was nothing that could be done about it, he was just too strong."

Ryoga didn't really feel right saying these things to Ranma, because he had had the same thoughts himself. Who was he trying to convince? No, it was true. Creig was invincible. It was nobody's fault.

Ranma had fallen silent, though. Ryoga waited for her to speak, until her breathing told him that she was asleep. "Let's get you back to camp," he said, picking her up and heading back the way he had come.

* * *

Slowly, Tatewaki Kuno stirred. He raised one hand in front of his face and stared at it, blinking. "Could it be that somehow I have survived?" he asked nobody in particular. At length he sat, looking around and trying to remember what had happened.

"That brute, Creig... he left me for dead..." using his wooden sword for support, Kuno stood shakily. It was not hard to tell where Creig had gone. Broken trees lined the way and the ground was full of holes.

But that was the wrong way. The pigtailed girl and Akane Tendo had gone in a different direction, he was sure of it. He moved to follow them, but halfway across the clearing he stepped on something. Looking down, he saw Mousse sprawled under his feet, still unconscious. "I suppose I can't leave you here, either," he said, picking up the smaller man. He draped Mousse over his shoulder and used the sword as a cane as he followed the rest of the group.

The trees behind him shook noticeably as Ryoga's umbrella was pulled free from the tree it had been lodged in. It had become entangled in chains which issued from Mousse's sleeves, and it slowed their progress considerably. Every few minutes, they had to stop. Kuno couldn't carry this much weight very far in his condition, but he also couldn't leave Mousse to die, and he wasn't able to extricate the umbrella.

"Do not fear," he said breathlessly. "I, Tatewaki Kuno, will get us both to our destination safely."

* * *

"Ryoga?"

At the sound of Akane's voice, Ryoga very nearly dropped Ranma.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Ryoga assured her. "I'm about to take over watch duty, but first I had to bring Ranma back here."

"Oh..." Akane took a moment in her still-mostly-asleep state to register this. "Well, can you try and keep it down?" Ryoga nodded, and Akane closed her eyes again. Carefully, Ryoga laid Ranma on the ground and turned to go back to the river... only to find that he no longer remembered where the river was. So he took a guesss, walked a short distance, and sat.

Perhaps they had really managed to lose Creig in the forest.

Perhaps Mousse and Kuno had won, and Creig wouldn't be back for a while.

Or perhaps that noise approaching through the trees was Creig, ready to finish them off.

Ryoga was on his feet and about to alert the others when he caught a glimpse of something moving. But it wasn't Creig. It was much smaller, and moved with a stagger as opposed to the inexorable pace of the warrior. And it was blue. As Ryoga approached, the figure collapsed against a tree.

Kuno looked up at Ryoga, who crouched to get a better look. "I see that I have arrived safely," whispered the swordsman. "So now... I rest..."

His eyes slid shut as Ryoga went to awaken the others.

--  
My apologies to those who have been waiting. I was, and am, busy, and lazy, but I'm hoping it won't be much of a problem in the future.


	5. Terrible Fear

I don't own Ranma  
Rumiko Takahashi  
Is the genius there  
--

"Are they going to be alright?" Ranma asked. They were all gathered over the unconscious bodies of Kuno and Mousse, who were spread out on the forest floor as Cologne did her best to treat their wounds. Kuno's torso was almost completely blue, and one of Mousse's arms was twisted in an unnatural way. Neither appeared to have bled much, due to the nature of their injuries, but they were still hard to look at.

"I don't know," the old woman replied bluntly. "Any ordinary person who took a beating like that would be dead within the hour, but I suppose neither of these boys is what you'd call ordinary. For now, though, we can't move them. Disturbing them even the slightest bit could finish them off."

Ranma nodded solemnly. "I thought so," she said, taking a few steps back. They couldn't move the injured boys. But Creig was still out there somewhere. He was hunting for them, and if he found them again they probably wouldn't escape. Shaking visibly, Ranma turned away. "So we're leaving them behind, then," she said. There was no question in it; she knew what Cologne would do. If they didn't, they'd be sitting ducks. No matter what happened, Kuno and Mousse would die anyway.

"Not yet."

There was a prolonged pause before Ranma realized just what Cologne had said. She half-turned and looked at the Amazon elder. "What'd you say?"

"I said, we're not leaving yet," Cologne stated. "Take a look at that."

She was pointing to a chain lying near Ranma's feet. "It took me hours to free Mousse from this," she said, "and this umbrella was all tangled up in it." Sure enough it was Ryoga's umbrella. "That Kuno boy just got here, dragging all that weight, while Creig still hasn't unhampered."

Everyone thought about this fact for a second, and Ryoga was first to catch on. "So you mean you think... Creig got lost?"

Cologne gave a quick nod. "Yes, that's the only explanation I can think of."

The look on Ryoga's face was one of utter bliss. Finally, it was someone _else_ who couldn't find their way! He pumped both fists into the air and let out a loud whoop, before looking around and seeing nobody else was celebrating. With a cough, he regained control of himself. "So we've got a little more time. That's good."

"But it's not enough," Ranma said darkly. "We'll never be ready, and we can't run anymore. Our only choice is to fight."

Her reward for this cunning plan was a whack from Cologne's cane.

"I'll say this again, if you fight him _you will die_," Cologne informed her. "These two are only alive, and _comatose_, by the way, because they aren't the ones Creig is after. He had no reason to make sure he finished them off. We've got to wait until the right time to make our stand."

Rubbing her throbbing head, Ranma groaned. "I don't care 'bout dyin'," she replied. "Not if I have to live like this. Bein' afraid all the time is no better than bein' dead."

After a moment's hesitation, Ryoga nodded. "You're right," he said. "If we keep running away, he's going to catch us. We should take our chances fighting back..."

"Listen to yourselves," Akane interrupted. "You can't attack him and just hope you can win. That's what Kuno and Mousse did, and they weren't strong enough."

Happosai cleared his throat. "I say we put it to a vote," he said. "All who want to hit him with everything we've got, raise your hands."

Ranma and Ryoga raised their hands.

"All who want to run away and live to fight another day?"

Happosai, Cologne, and Akane raised their hands.

"It's decided, then."

"Wait a minute..." Ranma began.

"It's decided."

And with that, the conversation ended. Cologne focused her full attention on the wounded boys, and Ranma skulked off to the river. It was hard enough not knowing what had happened to Kuno and Mousse. Now that she knew, she decided it might have been better to go on wondering. She sat once more, staring at her reflection as if begging it for advice. Looking up, she could clearly see the trail left by Kuno dragging the umbrella. It was an incredible feat in his condition.

"Mind if I join you?"

Ranma didn't even look up as Akane approached.

"Ranma."

After a bit of consideration, Ranma looked up and made eye contact. She forced herself not to look away, not to return to that reflection, the reflection that watched and judged her weakness. At this moment it felt like the hardest thing she had ever done.

"Listen, I know you're scared. Everything's gone wrong, and we could die at any moment. But that's why you have to stop this, don't you get it?" Ranma showed no sign of comprehension. "Right now you need to be focused on surviving. We can't afford to think about anything else."

"I get it, 'Kane," Ranma said slowly. "I just... it feels like this has been going on forever. Like I've been running from Creig my whole life. I can't take it anymore."

Akane nodded. "We all feel like that," she said, "but that's the way it is for now."

"I get it," Ranma replied. "I just need to think."

"In that case, I'll go back to camp," Akane said. "Try to calm down." She waited until Ranma nodded, then left.

Ranma closed her eyes and turned her face to the river once more. She understood everything perfectly by now.

This was the longest night of her life.

--  
Sorry this took so long, I've been working on other things.


	6. Frantic Sparring

I don't own Ranma  
Rumiko Takahashi  
Is the genius there  
--

Once more, Ranma and Ryoga faced one another across the clearing, preparing for the coming conflict with Creig. Cologne held her staff high for a long moment, then dropped it, signalling the two to begin.

Ranma didn't hesitate at all.

Before Ryoga could even register the movement, Ranma was right in front of him. He moved to block the barrage of punches to his abdomen, but too late; Ranma's fists found their mark, causing him to flinch and step back. Even as he did so, however, Ranma was dashing behind him, taking advantage of this moment of vulnerability to hammer him to the ground. He rolled quickly onto his back, positioning himself for a counterattack, but he was unable to pull it off as Ranma's unrelenting blows, coming faster and harder with each moment, knocked the breath out of him. It was almost as if Ranma was fighting to kill...

"Stop!"

The form of Cologne interposed between the two, forcing Ranma to cease his assault. "That's quite enough," she informed him. "Save some of that power for Creig. If you kill Ryoga you'll only make things worse."

"It's okay," Ryoga said, wincing as he pulled himself to a sitting position. "We can't afford to hold back, even in training, right? Don't stop him now."

Cologne gave Ryoga a look of uncertainty, then nodded. "Well, if you're fine with it, then continue."

Ranma waited for Ryoga to get back on his feet, then instantly knocked him off them again. This time, though, Ryoga sprang right back up, putting his full force into a charge that managed to push Ranma back. He crossed his arms before his face to block the next onslaught, and took a mighty swing, but it was for nothing as Ranma easily dodged and followed up with his most destructive series of attacks yet, which caused Ryoga to cry out in pain. Finally, with a single kick, Ranma launched the other boy off through the trees, where he lay still.

"Now I think he's had enough," Cologne said. "Best take a break, child. Then you can spar with me."

Ranma hesitated, but since Ryoga was now unconscious he agreed. He rested against a tree, his mind still focused on the task at hand.

"They can't keep this up for long," Happosai commented.

Cologne didn't turn to look at him. "I'm aware of that," she said after a moment's silence. "We're probably going to die. But Ranma's desperation will drive him to fight ever harder until he can't fight anymore. That's our last chance. And all we can do is take it." Happosai nodded in understanding.

"So you're going with his plan after all, are you?"

"Unfortunately, he's the only one who has a plan."

"Alright, break's over!" Ranma called, stepping forward to face Cologne. With a weary sigh, Cologne approached him and raised her staff, and the two were at it.

Akane watched intently, but she couldn't keep up with their motions. Now they were here, now they were there. Ranma was fighting at several times his normal level, and Cologne was matching him, as near as she could tell. It seemed the forest was taking more damage than either of them. Trees fell over and exploded into showers of splinters, which neither combatant seemed to feel. And then, suddenly, they stopped. Cologne was thrown to the ground and landed on her back. "Are you alright?" Akane asked, approaching, but Cologne held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't you worry about me," instructed the old woman. "I may be down, but I'm not out." So saying, she lifted herself easily and rushed back into the battle. After a few more hectic minutes, there was another pause... a limb broke overhead, and Akane barely got out of the way in time. This time Ranma was tossed back out of the tree, and far out of sight. A splashing noise echoed, and then silence. "Are you still alive, Ranma?" Cologne called.

"You bet I am!" exclaimed the redhead as she burst out of the trees behind Cologne, scooping her up and pinning her against a stump. She followed through with a few quick punches, but Cologne was able to stop every blow with a subtle gesture of her staff. Cologne then kicked away the hand that was holding her and aimed to strike Ranma across the back, but Ranma was already out of the way, and went for a sweep kick followed by a vicious uppercut.

Ryoga's head was foggy. He pulled himself to his feet and looked around stupidly, wondering what had hit him. _Oh yeah, that was Ranma's fist. He's definitely gotten stronger._ Idly he headed back toward the site of the match, and, seeing that Ranma was occupied fighting Cologne, sat down to watch. It was strange to him, having to rely on his longtime rival to survive. Now when they fought, it wasn't to prove anything. It wasn't because of grudges or envy. It was because if they stopped fighting, they would die. There was no maybe, they would just be dead. It had been two weeks since they had been reminded of that fact. Glancing at the two comatose figures, Ryoga reflected on what a grim reminder it had been.

Happosai's full attention was on the battle. He couldn't deny that Ranma's progress was nothing short of admirable. If any of them could defeat Creig of Earth right now, it was Ranma. _The boy might even surpass me if he keeps this up,_ he thought. Even so... regardless of Ranma's improvements, he could never hope to match the brute strength of Creig. There would have to be something else working for them if Ranma was going to win, and since they really didn't have any secret weapons, the only hope was to find Creig's weakness and break the spell that kept him alive.

The battle continued and Ranma showed no sign of tiring. Cologne, meanwhile, was beginning to slow down. She was still parrying most of Ranma's blows with her staff, but her counterattacks were getting fewer and farther between. Gradually, after much resistance, the old woman sank to one knee, then the other, unable to stand any longer.

It was about that time when something truly unexpected happened.

Across the clearing, Mousse stirred.

If you have ever seen someone someone coming to after nearly drowning, I ask you to remember that scene. That is precisely what Mousse looked and sounded like as he awakened. He gasped desparately for breath and clutched his chest in pain as he rolled weakly onto his side. Immediately, everyone fixed their attention on him, even Ranma, who had not focused on anything other than training since the last battle with Creig. After a minute of wheezing pathetically, Mousse sat up straight for the first time in two weeks. As he felt around for his glasses, he suddenly felt very crowded. This was, in fact, because everyone had rushed to his side, and pressed their faces as near to his as they could. Someone handed him his spectacles, and on they went - and now he could clearly see Ranma Saotome staring back at him from no more than two inches away, framed on the left and right by Akane Tendo and Ryoga Hibiki. Were he not in a great deal of pain he might have reflected on the bizarre reversal that seemed to have taken place, and thereupon delivered a swift uppercut to the offending visage, but at the moment it was proving excruciatingly painful to lift his arm, and so he settled for a frightening glower - which ended up looking like a tortured wince - as he muttered, "Get out of my face." At this, all the others moved to give him some space, and Akane held out a hand to help him to his feet.

"I must say, I am amazed," Cologne commented. "I knew you were tough, but surviving a direct confrontation with Creig of Earth, now that's really something."

Mousse made a point of not looking at Cologne as he replied. "I can't die yet," he said. "Not until I've seen him suffer for what he did to Shampoo."

The memory of what had happened to Shampoo prompted a heavy silence as everyone remembered afresh that they could easily share the same fate.

"Well... are we just going to sit around all day?" Mousse finally demanded. "We've got training to do!"

"Not so fast," Cologne scolded. "You're not going to be doing any training for a while. You're in no shape for any kind of exertion."

"But-" Mousse's protest was cut off when Cologne lightly pressed her staff against his abdomen, an action which nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Take a day or two to recover your strength, Mousse. Then you can train all you want. Now then, Ranma." Cologne returned her attention to the redhead. "Are you ready to continue?" Ranma nodded silently, and Cologne assumed a stance. "In that case, let us..."

Before she could make a move, Happosai leapt in front of her. "Now, hold on," he said. "You two've been going at it for some time now, and I think it's my turn."

The Amazon elder considered the idea, then obligingly stepped aside. "Very well," she said. "I need a break anyway."

"Right, then, whenever you're ready, Ranma, you can begin," Happosai stated. "But I warn you, my boy, I will not go easy on you."

Ranma, of course, was not listening, as she had already begun her attack. Happosai managed to fend of the first round of blows that came his way, then ducked under a left roundhouse kick and tapped Ranma's right leg with his pipe. This sent the leg flying out from underneath Ranma, who fell into a handstand and began kicking at Happosai. These attacks were awkward and easily blocked, but Happosai was so focused on defending himself that he didn't think to counter. He backed off a bit, and Ranma sprung to her feet, landing behind him and taking a mighty swing. The old man caromed off several trees, reaching into his pockets as he did so for several Happo Fire Bombs. The blasts rained down all around Ranma, who scrambled to dodge them all. Then, abruptly, they stopped. The forest was eerily quiet for a moment as Ranma waited for the reemergence of the grandmaster. When she realized where he had gone, she turned instantly turned, but it was too late, and the little man slammed into her with an impressive velocity and knocked her to the ground.

"Stay down, Ranma," Happosai advised as Akane picked up a kettle of hot water. "We've done enough training for today."

"Not yet, old man," said Ranma, trying to get to her feet, but she knew there wasn't much left in her. She had used a lot of energy in her barrage against Ryoga, and even more in the subsequent match with Cologne. After two fights with no real rest, she could hardly move.

"Don't you dare backsass me," growled the Anything Goes Grandmaster. "We need you in top shape. As well as you fought today, you have to fight even better when Creig shows up. Otherwise, we're all done for."

Ranma fell silent as Akane poured the water. The truth was, he knew he was doomed if he had to fight Creig. The only way they would survive was by a miracle. And the only miracle he could see happening was miraculous training.

"Fine," he grumbled. "I'll rest for now."

Happosai nodded grimly. "Good. We'll resume tomorrow."

--  
Not much to say. Huzzah for another chapter!


End file.
